


Into the Shadows

by reynabethh



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Cheating, F/M, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:41:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21917752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reynabethh/pseuds/reynabethh
Summary: It's been five years since they defeated Gaia. Piper and Leo mysteriously disappear a couple of months later; creating a hole in their friends' lives. Life has had its ups and downs, but the group's friendship has mostly been shattered. Percy is depressed, but can't find anything that will take him out of his depression. Hazel seems to be the only one with any determination left.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson/Hazel Levesque, Percy Jackson/Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang
Kudos: 9





	Into the Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: Percy cheats on Annabeth. This is not a happy story.

The cheating started a month ago. Percy didn’t know why he couldn’t bring himself to break up with Annabeth when it started. He knew he was being a coward, that he didn’t want to lose her, but that was the icing on the cake. 

Whether she found out or not, which she would because she was Annabeth Chase, he would never get over the guilt. He didn’t understand why she was still oblivious to the situation. Maybe she knew in the back of her mind what was happening, but didn’t want to face it.

Annabeth had always been there for him, and he tried his best to always be there for her. He loved her and would never stop loving her. It was deeper than a romantic love, deeper than a platonic love. She was the only one who would ever understand the trauma he experienced in Tartarus. 

However, Tartarus was five years ago. He turned twenty-two in August and it was now mid December. His ability to cope with the trauma seemed to be deteriorating over the years. It didn’t help that the dynamics between his friends were unrecognizable. 

It all started when Jason and Piper broke up. They both said it was a mutual decision, which Percy actually believed. A couple of weeks after that, Piper and Leo disappeared. No one went after them, no one seemed to worry about them. 

He was certain Annabeth knew where they were, but she didn’t mention it and he didn’t ask. 

He and Annabeth got an apartment in New York together when they hit their twenties. She went to college while he worked a job giving swimming lessons to rich kids. On Saturdays they went to Camp Half-Blood and helped out with whatever they could. On Sundays they did the same at Camp Jupiter. Percy was genuinely happy at the beginning. He loved training young demigods with Annabeth at his side. He loved seeing her after long hours of being with whiny rich kids.

There was nothing more comforting than falling asleep with Annabeth at night, knowing they wouldn’t have to deal with any life-threatening missions the next day, or the day after, or even the year after. He never had to think about what happened in Tartarus, much less talk about it. 

It was nice to see their friends on the weekends. Thalia even came over on weekdays just to pay them a visit two or three times a month. However, interactions were stiff. It was painfully obvious that there was a hole where Piper and Leo used to be. No one ever talked about their disappearance. No one ever talked about the quest.

He could still bring himself to laugh with everyone and make jokes with Jason. Unfortunately, it didn’t change that he felt increasingly numb as the months went on and turned into years. He knew Annabeth felt the same, but he could tell her school work and Thalia’s visits still brought her real pleasure. 

Every once in a while, he and Annabeth would go on a date. It was the only time he felt truly happy and could find his playful and joking nature. 

He told her about how he felt when they went out together. They decided to go on more dates. Every week they would do something different. He felt good. Things were getting better.

After three months, they got the news that Thalia had done something to betray Artemis. She was no longer a hunter. She immediately found herself being a homeless twenty four year old. 

She stayed with them two nights a week and with Jason the rest of the time. 

The dates continued to bring pleasure to Percy’s life for two weeks after that. Another month after that, he started making excuses to avoid them. Instead of going out with Annabeth, he would clean the swimming pools at his work and end up sleeping at his mom’s place.

Annabeth didn’t seem too bothered by that. It November and she needed to study more, especially given she didn’t have time on the weekends. 

On the last Sunday of the month, life changed. 

They were at Camp Jupiter. The sun shone bright; it was hotter than usual Percy was showing a group of fifteen new kids how to hold a shield. These were all Roman kids, but Percy wanted to make sure they knew about Greek methods as well.

Everything was going great until Jason tackled him from behind. 

He fell over. Jason, who was probably expecting him to defend himself, also fell. He landed on top of Percy.

The kids laughed. Percy also let out a little laugh. “Alright everyone, time for a break.” The kids ran off. He looked at Jason. “What the fuck, dude?”

“That didn’t go exactly as planned.” He stated, rolling off of Percy and laying on the ground.

Percy didn’t feel the need to answer that. He thought it would be sufficient to stare angrily at him. 

“Hazel wants us all to meet up in about half an hour. She says she’s not allowing any excuses so I’m here to drag your ass there to prevent her from killing you.” Jason continued.

Percy sighed and got up. There was dirt covering his knees, his arms and his sides. He also felt like there was dirt covering his mind. He didn’t actually feel angry at Jason. He didn’t feel anything. There was a sliver of happiness seeing his friend, just like there was a sliver of happiness in helping the kids develop their talents. But it was nothing more than a sliver. 

Jason stood up as well. He was equally covered in dirt. 

“What? Does she think she’s going to get us all to be one happy friend group again?” Percy snapped. He didn’t need to snap, it shouldn’t have come out that way. “It’s not the same without Piper and Leo.”

Jason’s face hardened. Percy noticed specks of dirt in his hair and scattered across his face. “You think I don’t know that?”

They walked to the meeting point in silence. 

They arrived at a picnic shelter about a kilometer away from Camp Jupiter. Frank and Hazel, and Will were sitting at a table. It looked like Will was asleep. Nico was sitting next to one of the posts holding the shelter up. Clarisse was sitting next to the post opposite to Nico.Percy noticed Annabeth, Reyna and Thalia approaching from a different direction. 

There were other demigods sitting around as well. He recognized all of them, but could only remember the names of a few. They were all around his age. They all remembered Gaia’s threats. They had all been there. 

Percy and Jason sat at the table next to Frank and Hazel’s. Percy said hi to them, but otherwise no one spoke. The shelter was filled with complete silence.

Annabeth,Thalia and Reyna arrived and took a seat at their table. Percy looked around. Everyone looked weak and tired. Clarisse had lost weight. She no longer sported big scary muscles. Nico’s bones were visible through his skin. Taking a closer look at Jason and Reyna, he noticed they both had several gray hairs. 

Frank and Hazel were in pretty good shape, but Percy could tell they weren’t really okay. Franks eyes stared off in the distance, looking at nothing. He wasn’t really there with them. There was something else in Hazel’s eyes; maybe it was fear or guilt, but it was probably the same depression as everyone else was feeling. 

After several more moments of silence, Hazel stood up on the picnic table and spoke: “It’s my nineteenth birthday soon. I’m going to have a party next weekend. I’d really appreciate it if you could all come.” She looked around at everyone’s traumatized faces. “Look, I know it’s been rough since Piper and Leo disappeared, and I know it was rough before that too. That doesn’t mean we have to fall into unhappy lives. I think it would help all of us if we just… became friends again.” 

Her voice was calming. When he heard it, he felt like he could let go of everything he was trying to hold together. It was nice to hear her say those words - they were comforting, but Percy didn’t believe any of them. He could tell no one else believed them either. 

Hazel kept talking. “No one has to talk about any scary shit they’ve been through. It’s just supposed to be fun.”

Silence followed for several minutes after her failed pep talk. There was a sort of awkward tension between the group, as if everyone wanted to start yelling at each other. Jason’s face was as pale as Nico’s on a normal day; he obviously didn’t appreciate having a second person mention Piper and Leo in the same week. 

Percy felt stiff and tired. He wouldn’t be able to fight him, or calm him down if he exploded. The other big three kids didn’t look any better. Only Hazel had a fiery determination in her eyes. Her body was completely still, but it wasn’t a result of stiffness. She was ready for a fight.

Will was the first to speak up. “I’d love to come, Hazel, but I’m going to be busy, as I’m sure many of the others will be too…”

Hazel’s eyes started to glow. There was a heavy mist surrounding the shelter now, and it swirled between the tables. Pieces of gold popped out of the wood and lay around her feet. “You’re going to come, Will, as will everyone else.”

The mist danced around her, climbing up her body like vines. It was only noon but it felt like the sun was setting, shadows covering all of them.

Then the mist cleared away and she was gone. The shadows didn’t go away, the sky didn’t brighten up. The precious metals that popped up appeared to have melted all over the picnic table, covering it in gold. 

Nico was gone too. 

Soon enough, Percy and Frank were the only ones left under the shelter. When they finally got up, they nodded at each other and went their separate ways.

**Author's Note:**

> comments & kudos are appreciated!!


End file.
